Stanford’s Rhyne will punt as a grad student next year

As the Stanford players sat at tables around a Los Angeles hotel ballroom for Rose Bowl Media Day on Sunday, maybe the smartest guy in the room was talking about numbers.

“The statistic that means the most is net yardage,’’ punter Ben Rhyne said. “It reflects what you’re able to do as a unit.’’

Rhyne averaged a gross of 42.1 yards on his 47 punts – with just one touchback – while his net average was 37.8, nearly three yards better than opposing punters averaged.

He ranked fourth in the Pac-12, the same spot that Michigan State punter Mike Sadler (42.3) ranked in the Big Ten.

Another impressive number is Rhyne’s grade-point average, 3.88. He was selected as Pac-12 scholar-athlete of the year. He’ll earn his degree in biomechanical engineering this spring but will be back to punt next year as he attends graduate school in engineering.

Trickery is afoot: Sadler twice ran the ball on trick plays this year, a 25-yard gain against Iowa on a fake punt and a three-yard run for a first down as the holder on a fake field goal try against Nebraska.

Of the latter play, Sadler said, “It worked, but it wasn’t as pretty as we drew it up to be. We scored a touchdown three plays later. It was a big momentum swing in that game.’’

The Spartans have a history of trick plays. “Their history says you’d better be ready and have your eyes in the right spots on all the kicking plays,’’ Stanford special teams coach Pete Alamar said.